Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 20. december 2013 / Time Line December 20, 2013
Version 3.519. December 2013, 21. December 2013
12/20/2013
Congressional Budget Office : Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear
Forces, 2014 to 2023
- http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44968
In its most recent review of U.S. nuclear policy, the
Administration resolved to maintain all three types of systems that
can deliver nuclear weapons over long ranges—submarines that
launch ballistic missiles (SSBNs), land-based intercontinental
ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and long-range bombers—known
collectively as the strategic nuclear triad. The Administration
also resolved to preserve the ability to deploy U.S. tactical
nuclear weapons carried by fighter aircraft overseas in support of
allies. Nearly all of those delivery systems and the nuclear
weapons they carry are nearing the end of their planned operational
lives and will need to be modernized or replaced by new systems
over the next two decades. In addition, the Administration’s
review called for more investment to restore and modernize the
national laboratories and the complex of supporting facilities that
maintain the nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons. The costs
of those modernization activities will add significantly to the
overall cost of the nation’s nuclear forces, which also
includes the cost of operating and maintaining the current
forces.
How Much Funding Did the Administration Request for Nuclear Forces
in 2014?
The budgets requested by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the
Department of Energy (DOE) for fiscal year 2014 include $23.1
billion for nuclear delivery systems and weapons, CBO
estimates—$9.7 billion for DoD’s strategic and tactical
nuclear delivery systems; $8.3 billion for DOE’s nuclear
weapons activities, the laboratories that support those activities,
and nuclear reactors for ballistic missile submarines; and $5.1
billion for the command, control, communications, and early-warning
systems that are necessary to operate U.S. nuclear forces safely
and effectively. What Will the Administration’s Plans for
Nuclear Forces Cost Over the Next Decade?
Between 2014 and 2023, the costs of the Administration’s
plans for nuclear forces will total $355 billion, in CBO’s
estimation. Of that total, $296 billion represents CBO’s
projection of the amounts budgeted for strategic and tactical
nuclear delivery systems ($136 billion over 10 years); for nuclear
weapons, DOE’s nuclear weapons enterprise, and SSBN nuclear
reactors ($105 billion over 10 years); and for nuclear command,
control, communications, and early-warning systems ($56 billion
over 10 years). The remaining $59 billion of the total represents
CBO’s estimate of the additional costs that will ensue over
the coming decade, beyond the budgeted amounts, if the nuclear
programs experience cost growth at the same average rate that
similar programs have experienced in the past.
In addition to operating and maintaining current systems, DoD and
DOE plan to modernize or replace many weapons and delivery systems
over the next few decades. Planned nuclear modernization programs
include new SSBNs, long-range bombers, ICBMs, and cruise missiles,
as well as major life-extending refurbishments of current ICBMs,
submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and nearly all nuclear
warheads. Of the $241 billion budgeted for nuclear delivery systems
and weapons over the next 10 years (combining the $136 billion and
$105 billion figures in the preceding paragraph), CBO estimates
that $152 billion would be spent to field and maintain the current
generation of systems and $89 billion would be spent to modernize
or replace those systems. Because most of those modernization
efforts are just beginning, annual costs for nuclear forces are
expected to increase. From 2021 to 2023, nuclear costs would
average about $29 billion annually, roughly 60 percent higher than
the $18 billion requested for 2014. Annual costs are likely to
continue to grow after 2023 as production begins on replacement
systems.
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